Ratchet-wrench



. L. BEATY.

RATCHET WRENCH.

APPLlcATloN FILED 00116. 1919.

W. L. BEATY.

- RATCHET WRENCH.

APPLICATION FItED 061.16, IBIS.

1 ,400,256, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'w. L. BEATY.

RATCHET WRENCH. APPLICATION FILED ocT.16. |919.

Patented Dec. 13,' 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET ya.

26 L. @y un? wmv,

WIIBUR L. BEATY, 0F SOUTH BUTTE, MONTANA RATcHE'r-WRENGH.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

'Application inea october 16, 1919. serial No. 331,013. Y

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WrLBUn L. BEATY,

citizen of the United States, residing at South Butte, in the county ofSilver Bow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ratchet- VVrenches, of which the following is aspeciiication.

This invention relates to an improved ratchet wrench: and has as one ofits principal objects to provide a device of this character wherein abrace handle may be employed for operating the wrench while, whenVdesired, the brace handle may be detached and a straight handle used. i

rIhe invention has as a further object to provide a wrench wherein whenthestraight handle is used, a stem or hand rest may be connected to thestock of the'wrench -or guiding` and steadying the wrench.

The inventionhas asa further object to provide a wrench wherein the jawsthereof may be contracted into binding engagement with the work or may,as easily, be spread apart to release the work.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a wrench whichmay be readily disassembled to the end that the wrench` may be easilymaintained in proper working condition or may be repaired. f

Other and incidental objects will appear hereinafter. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a brace handle connected with myimproved wrench, i i

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on an enlarged scale taken centrallythrough the wrench,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the use of a straighthandle in connection with the wrench, parts being broken away andillustrated in section,

Fig. 4L is a top plan view of the wrench, the ratchet head employedbeing removed.

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the ratchet hea Fig. 6 is a transversesection taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2 and looking downwardly,

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the wrench, the ratchet head beingremoved,

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the wrench stock,

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of the jaw element of the wrench,

Fig. 410 is a detail perspective view of the headed post employed forconnecting the ratchet head with the stock, and

Fig. 11 is a side elevation Vshowing the compact manner in which theseveral parts of thewrench may be arranged when carrying the wrenchabout.

In carrying the invention into effect, I employ, as particularlyillustrated inl Figs; 2 and 8 of the drawings, a cylindrical wrenchstock 10 provided at its lower end with an enlarged Vflared head 11while an annular boss 12 rises from the upper end of theV stock. Thestock is hollow throughout the major portion of its length and formedthrough the stock at equally spaced points above the head is a pluralityof longitudinally extending slots 13 communicating at their lower endswith alined channels 14 in the inner` face of the head. As will beobserved, the bottom walls of these'channels curve outwardly towardtheir lower ends. Slidable longitudinally within the stock is a jawelement, illustrated in detail in Fig. 9 of the drawings. This jawelement is formed with a substantially triangular head 15 from whichextends a plurality of resilient coacting jaws 16. The jaws are providedwith flat inner faces while toward their outer ends the jaws are widenedsomewhat to provide laterally inclined outer edges, the jaws being, infact, gradually tapered in width from their inner ends to their outerends. The head 15 of the jaw element is insertible through the head 11of the stock, the angular portions of the head 15 riding through thechannels 14 to freely engage within the slots 13 of the stock. lhen thejaw element is so mounted in position, the curved outer edges of thejaws will ride against the outwardly curved lower end portions of thechannels 14 of the head of the stock and it is now to be observed thatthe angular portions of the head 15 of the jaw element are of a lengthto project slightly beyond the periphery of the stock. Formed in theouter edges of these angular portions are teeth 17. Freely rotatableupon the stock is an adjusting sleeve 18 resting at its lower end uponthe stock head 11 and internally provided with a screw thread 19coacting with the teeth 17 of the Vjaw element. The webs of the stockbetween the slots 13 are, at their lower end portions, thickenedsomewhat to merge into the head V.11 and the'lower end portion of thesleeve 18 is counter-bored for snugly receivin` these thickened portionsof said webs. -s will now be clear in view of the preceding description,by rotating the sleeve 18 in onedirection, the jaw element may beretracted within the stock when the curved outer Nedges of the jaws 16will coact with the bottom walls of the channels 14 :for contractingthevjaws. Accordingly, the jaws may be readily adjusted into bindingen-V.ga-gement with -the work. 'On the other hand, by Vrotating the screw18 in the opp-o-k site direction, the jaw element may be projected :tromthe stock when the jaws will, due to their resiliency, spread apart forreflleasing the work. Rotation of the jawrelement within the stock whenVthe sleeve 18 is rotated will, of course, be prevented by the engagementof the angular portions of the head 15 of said'element within the slots13 1 of the stock ywhile the jaws16 will coact with thel side walls ofthe channels 14 for ypreventing twisting of the jaws and undue strainthereon.

Removably fitted upon the upper end por-i, A-tion of the wrench stock 10is a ratchet head;

20Y rotatably receiving` the boss 12 through the upper sidel thereof andpreferably interposed between the head and the sleeve 18 is a suitablewasher 21. The vratchet mecha-V `-nism of the head maybe of any approvedcharacter and in the drawings l have shown this mechanismr as includingcompanion pawls 22 located at opposite sides oi the head and selectivelymovable to coact with ratchet teeth 23 upon the upper end portion oi thewrench stock while an actuating` collar 24 is rotatable upon the headand coactsV with the inner end portions of the pawls. A' stop pin 25 isprovided for limitingthe collar in its movement in opposite directionsand extending fromthe head is a shank 26. All of this structure is oiconventional design and will accordingly not be further described indetail. However, as will be clear,

by selectively'inoving the pawls 22 into engagement with the ratchetteeth 23,V the wrench stock may be readily rotated in either direction.Countersunk in the upperside of the ratchet head 20 and liXed to the'boss 12 are su'perposed washers 2? and freely received through saidboss to be threaded into the upper end portion of the wrench stock is aheaded post 28 detachably con-k lecting the ratchet head with the stock.The

post carries a nut 29 seating against the uppermost'of the washers 27and clamped between said washer and the head of the post. l

vcrank of the handle ismounted a hand grip 34:. At its `inner end thehandle is Vformed to removably nt Vwithin the outer end of the sleeve 30to oe-firmly secured therein by the set Vbolt 31. Thus, the brace handlewill be operatively connected with the ratchet head s0 that this handlemay be readily employed :tor rotating said head andas will be readily Yunderstood in view of the preceding description, accordingly turning thewrench. How- ,Y

' ever, it maynot always prove practicable to Vemploy the brace handle32 and l accordingly provide a straight yhandle 35- for'the wrench.Asbest illustrated'in F ig. 3, this straight handle may also beremovably engaged at its inner end within `the outer end t the sleeve 30t0 beheld by the set bolt.

31 so that the straight handle may then be manipulated for turning thewrench. For

directing and steadying the wrench when the straight handle is used,llprovide a hand rest or stem 36. At its upper end this stein is vformedwith anappropriate head,while, at its Y lower end, the stem isprovided-with a socket 37 adapted to removably engage over the head oithe 4post 28 tocoact withV the nut 29. The stem will thus be operativelyconnected with the wrench stock andv accordingly may be held by one handof theoperator for direct 'ing the wrench while the other` hand isemployed` for manipulating the ratchet by means of the handle 35. Itwill accordingly be seen that I provide a'highly effective type ofratchet wrench and it is t0 be noted in this connection, asparticularlyy shown in Fig. 11, that the several Yparts of the wrenchmay, whendesired, be arranged in a very vcompact manner so that thedevice may be easily .carried in a tool` chest or tool bag.; 5

Havingl thus described the invention, what is claimed as .new is:

A wrench` comprising aksmooth bored stock having longitudinal' s lots inits walls and provided at one end with an enlarged open-ended head and.aredu'ced'shank at its e opposite end, a boss projecting Vfrom the ex-Vtremity of said reduced shank, a star shaped head slidably mounted inthe stock and having extended threaded portions projecting through theslotsin the stock, three resilient jaws integral with andextendingrfro'm said head through the open-ended enlarged head of thestock with flat inner surfaces and having their outer surfaces bearingagainst said stock head, a'n interiorly threaded sleeve rotatablymounted on the stock and engaging the threaded projections of theslidably mounted head, said sleeve bearing at one end against the saidenlarged head of the stock, a Working head fitted rotatably on thereduced shank of the stock and arranged to hold the sleeve against theenlarged head of the stock and prevent endwse movement of the sleeve,means for operating said Working head, and means engaging said boss to10 retain the Working headon the reduced end of the stock.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILBUR L. BEATY. [11. 5.]

